The present invention is directed to an improved adhesive bandage construction. Such bandage constructions are normally used to cover and protect cuts and scrapes, particularly cuts and scrapes requiring treatment by a physician or nurse in a hospital emergency room or physician's office and follow-up treatment on an outpatient basis.
Under these circumstances, it is important to keep the injury free of contamination even though the patient returns to normal activity. Furthermore, it is frequently important to allow the injury and the wound exudate to dry out rapidly and keep it dry in order to maintain a natural barrier to external contamination of the wound. There are no assembled bandage constructions now available which provide this combination of properties. Some of the available bandages allow the exudate to dry out rapidly but these do not provide protection when bathing. Others may keep the wound clean by covering the wound with a continuous adhesive elastic film, but these do not allow the exudate to dry out rapidly. In fact, with these bandages, exudate accumulates excessively. Only one product, a laminate of foam and a microporous plastic film, was ever offered as a dressing that came close to providing these properties. But this product did not provide an adhesive seal to protect the edges of the wound and developed an excessive adhesion to the wound such that it was withdrawn from the market.
Also, many adhesive bandages, especially those for large wounds, are uncomfortable to wear since the pressure sensitive adhesive attachment and wound covering has very little elasticity and pulls the skin excessively when there is movement involving the injury. Since these bandages cannot stretch or move, any movement tends to pull the standard adhesive bandage along the skin and ultimately loosens the bandage.
The bandages presently available with an absorbent pad are essentially inelastic or have limited elasticity in only one direction. Even bandages using tricot knit fabric as the adhesive backing use an aggressive adhesive and do not provide a sufficient level of comfort. Consequently, removal of the bandage and the adhesive is almost always difficult and painful.